Getting started with Alpacas

Welcome to our Alpaca Special where we focus on this versatile and attractive animal! In this in-depth feature, we look at management, explore the many reasons to keep alpacas and highlight understanding behaviour.

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You’ve looked at them over the fence, felt the soft fibre and feel you have time and space for alpacas. But how do you go from an admirer of alpacas to owning them? There are so many reasons for keeping alpacas with obviously their luxurious fibre being one of the main ones and the aim of having a quality breeding herd. But they also can be much loved pets, help guard other livestock from predators, be soothing therapy animals and also used for trekking. They can even be more than one of these things, with responsible breeders producing animals whose fibre will be of good quality even if the desire is to keep as pets. With so many colours including Appaloosa, there is something to appeal to everyone from spinners, to knitters, to home dyers. (You need ideally at least 3 – never buy one – a responsible seller will not sell you one if they know it will be on its own).

CAN I PROVIDE THE CARE AND FACILITIES FOR ALPACAS?